


It's Like Christmas but With More... Us

by Themista



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-23
Updated: 2012-12-23
Packaged: 2017-11-22 04:45:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/605961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Themista/pseuds/Themista
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a one-shot, though it's quite long, because apparently no amount of words is sufficient to capture the beauty that is FrostIron.<br/>So yeah, my Christmas present to the internet is mostly a healthy portion of smut with a generous side-order of feels. There is no kind of plot or anything.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's Like Christmas but With More... Us

**Author's Note:**

> The background here is that they have had a rather intense, chaotic and confusing relationship while Loki was on Earth for a little while. They have serious trouble trusting each other, Loki has confessed his love for Tony, but Tony feels like he can't reciprocate because Tony generally has problems with intimacy, but even more so with his former enemy.

Loki had just  _appeared_  in Tony's house on Christmas day, insisting that the two of them should spend the holiday together. As Loki was able to travel between realms without the Bifrost, he had been allowed out very briefly to come and get Tony, and take him back for a conjugal visit.

They had already argued over the point that Tony was not cool with being picked up for sex at any moment like a cheap hooker, and Loki had exasperatedly called him an ungrateful fool. It was just like old times.

“Come, Tony,” Loki said, clearly trying to restrain his annoyance. “It will be simple and fun – that is what you like, is it not?”

“Loki, nothing is ever simple with you...”

A mischievous grin broke over Loki's face. “But it is always fun.”

There was a moment of silence. It had been a long time since Tony had ever cared much about Christmas; the day was nothing but December 25th to him, and all he used Christmas for was as an excuse to start drinking in the morning. Generally, there would be no one around to call him on it, and if there was then his answer would be  _Because Christmas, that's why_. As such, Tony had drank some Champagne, because he could, as well as his usual scotch. There was a part of him that thought maybe he had fallen asleep, and this was all just a bizarre dream – but that was how Tony usually felt whenever Loki was around. Loki was unpredictable, inexplicable – irresistible.

“Do you even have Christmas in Asgard?” Tony asked.

“We have Yuletide,” Loki replied easily, with a shrug. “This day specifically does not happen to be of any great significance to us, but, the time generally is one for being with people who are... important.”

Tony regarded Loki calmly.  _Important_. He knew that Loki was trying to avoid saying a word more like  _special_ , and he definitely needed to avoid the word  _loved_. That had been pretty awkward last time.

Tony sighed. “Okay, reindeer games. Give me five minutes. I'll pack.”

“You will not need anything,” Loki replied, apparently genuinely confused.

“I'm pretty sure I'll need a change of underwear,” Tony countered. “Don't touch anything.” He left for the bedroom to get a small backpack of things, and Loki made himself at home in Tony's house, picking things up, looking at them, talking to Jarvis.

When Tony returned, he took hold of Loki's wrist as if he were a disobedient child and led him back to the centre of the room, about where he had materialised in the first place. “Come on then, Christmas in Asgard.”

Loki held Tony against him, and Tony wrapped his arms around Loki's back, unable to stop his hands from exploring. Loki was basically dressed Asgard style, though he didn't have any armour, just tight leather, clinging closely to his body. Tony could resist touching him – Loki was downright sexy, and it had been a few weeks since they'd seen each other... Loki murmured in amused annoyance. “I need to concentrate, Stark, stand  _still_...”

“Okay,” Tony promised, settling against Loki's body.

Tony gave it a couple of seconds and then swiftly brought his hand down to give Loki a pat on the ass, sharply; a smack. Loki laughed and had to pull his body back slightly with the laughter. He held Tony firmly by both sides of the head and kissed him. “You are impossible. Just wait a few seconds until we are in Asgard–”

“Fine, fine...” Tony capitulated. He had had fun, but it was at an end now; he wanted to get to Asgard as much as Loki did.

Loki composed himself and held Tony tight. There was a lurching sensation, an indefinable blip of nothingness that Tony had no idea how he even managed to perceive, and then another lurch. It took Tony a moment to catch his breath and take note of where he was: an enormous room which was so obviously part of a palace. It was all marble and gold and sumptuous drapery, mostly green, as that was Loki's colour. Tony took a step back from Loki and raised his eyebrows at the mess: various books and papers scattered over every surface, clothing draped over the back of a chair.

Loki noticed his look and shrugged. “ _God of Chaos_ , what did you expect. And I have been shut in here with nothing to do for quite some time.”

“So you had time to tidy up,” Tony laughed, “I mean, you could just magic all this stuff into order like a badass Mary Poppins, it wouldn't even be hard.” Loki just glared at him.

Tony noticed a fir tree standing in a pot in one corner of the room. Loki gestured to it, and explained, “I got you a tree.”

Tony laughed before he could stop himself, and Loki drew his brows together. “What?” Loki asked, irritated. “I know this to be part of Christmas.”

“Yeah,” Tony tried to suppress his laughter, “I know, it's just the way you said 'I got you a tree'... Thank you. Thank you for getting me a tree, Loki. It's just what I've always wanted.”

Loki folded his arms and snapped, “There's no need to be sarcastic.”

“I'm not,” Tony's smile faltered. “I'm not.” He found himself inexplicably pleased that Loki had done this; put some thought and effort into providing Tony with Christmas. It had been a hell of a long time since anyone had done that. “Honestly,” Tony found himself saying, “Thank you for doing this. It's...” he trailed off, not sure whether words like  _nice_  or  _sweet_  were in any way applicable to Loki. In the end he went for “...thoughtful.”

Loki smiled with some relief, crossing the room to the window, beckoning Tony to follow him. Tony followed and his mouth fell open as he saw it: Asgard. Everything seemed to glitter and sparkle, either with gold or cascading water or both. From this room he could see the rainbow bridge stretching out, reaching a sudden stop where it had clearly been broken. He could just make out movement there; people working to do something to it, perhaps to rebuild the Bifrost. There was a lot of scattered debris and material; it made it hard to know exactly what he was looking at.

Tony suddenly realised he had been silent for a long time. “It's awesome,” he said finally.

“We can go out,” Loki told him, “under escort. If there is anywhere you should wish to see.”

Tony turned to him and smiled. “Thanks. But if I'm only allowed here for less than a day, I'd prefer to be with you.”

“You would be with me.”

“You know what I mean.”

Loki frowned. “Do you not want to see Asgard? Go somewhere?”

“Sure, later.”

“There is no later. It will be dark soon. And in the morning, I must return you to Midgard.”

Tony shrugged. “Oh well.”

“ _Oh well?_ ” Loki was incredulous. “Tony – you are literally in  _heaven_... how can you not...”

Tony looked Loki up and down and smiled. He felt a pang of something in his chest – he felt so drawn to Loki, so desperately in need of being close to him. “Heaven is not as entrancing as you are.”

Loki laughed and shook his head. He was trying to look annoyed, but Tony knew that smile – the honest one, the one that brought out the little lines at the corners of his eyes. The smile that revealed that underneath the monster Loki tried to play the part of, there was more, there was a person – an impossibly complex and endlessly fascinating person with a thousand years worth of trials, lessons, and experiences, and the weight of emotion that came with all that. Loki was there for Tony to see, exposed, and for a long time that had been the only time they had any kind of emotional intimacy; when Tony made him smile like that.

“Very well,” Loki said simply.

He glanced up, and Tony looked up to see... mistletoe. This was cheesy as hell but it was kind of adorable. “You're so romantic,” Tony said, sarcastically.

“I am more romantic than you,” Loki replied, and Tony realised that Loki actually  _was_  kind of romantic, at least, he could be. Tony smiled and kissed him, pressing his lips slowly against Loki's, savouring the moment.

Then, of all the things for Loki to do, he took Tony's hand and led him around the palatial room, explaining that this was merely one chamber. He threw open a door to reveal a spacious bathroom, and Tony couldn't stop himself from admiring it – it was all marble and gold, opulent almost to the point of absurdity.

“This is the nicest damn jail cell I've ever seen...” Tony said, stepping into the room. “But you  _are_  still a princess.”

“Do not call me that.” Loki rolled his eyes. “But I  _have_  become accustomed to certain standards.”

Tony shook his head and admired the enormous round tub towards the corner of the room: it had to be eight feet across, and it was sunk a little into the floor and reasonably deep, maybe as much as three feet in the centre, with a bench running around the edge. Even  _he_  didn't have a tub quite like that.

“So you're, what, under house arrest?” Tony asked. “I'm surprised they let you out of jail, I mean, are you telling me it was for  _good behaviour_?” He turned to look at Loki to see the prince resting his hand on a basin, looking at it absently, lost in thought.

“I proved to still be of some  _use_ ,” Loki replied, without expression or emotion. He suddenly stood up straight and smiled mechanically, gesturing to Tony to follow him out of the room. “Come, I'll show you the bed chamber–”

“Stop telling me to  _come_ , unless you're giving me a damn good reason to,” Tony planted his hand on Loki's hip. “You can't show me the most awesome bathroom ever like it's no big deal and then just leave. We should make use of that tub of yours, though it's practically a pool.”

Loki hesitated, so Tony, who thought that Loki would be keen, asked him why wouldn't want to do that. “I would rather you not know this,” Loki replied, slowly, “but immersion in water renders me unable to do magic.”

For a moment, Tony was stunned into silence. “Water?” He said, questioningly. “Water makes you vulnerable,  _water_  is your Kryptonite? That shit didn't make sense in  _Signs_  and it doesn't make sense now.”

Loki scoffed. “I did not understand most of what you just said, but from your tone, I'd say you think it more of an issue than it is. I would not be vulnerable; I would still be far stronger than you. That is not magic, that's just me.”

Tony broke away from him and leaned over the tub to turn on the taps, catching Loki staring desirously at his ass as he did so. Tony merely smiled and returned to stand in front of him, slipping his arms around Loki's slim waist. It took a little while for the tub to fill with water, so Tony explained his pop culture references as his fingers worked to unfasten Loki's clothing. Loki certainly seemed to be warming to the idea, running his fingers through Tony's hair and listening to Tony as he spoke. Layers of leather crossed over each other, all held tight around Loki's body in an infuriating series of little buttons and clasps. “I swear you dress like this just to annoy me...” Tony mumbled.

Loki leaned down and kissed him, slipping his hands under Tony's shirt, easing it up slowly as his hands ghosted up Tony's sides, over his ribs, to the muscles of his back. Their soft sighs and moans of pleasure were scarcely audible over the thundering of the water as the tub was filled, steam steadily rising around them and filling the room with heat.

Tony pushed what he could only describe as Loki's  _jacket_  back over his shoulders, but not off. Loki broke their kiss with a grin and brought up his arms. “Just typical...” Tony sighed, unfastening the clasps at Loki's wrists that held the material too tightly against his skin for him to slide his arms out of it – though Loki  _could_  make his clothes vanish at will, hell, he could even shape-shift, he just chose not to. Once Loki was free of the jacket and returned his hands immediately to Tony's shirt, pulling it up and over his head. “Finally,” Tony said absently, frantically pulling up the long-sleeved black shirt that Loki still had on.

“ _Finally_?” Loki held Tony's jaw and smirked, his eyes roving over Tony's face to his brown hair, endearingly dishevelled already, a tuft of it askew on his forehead. Loki pushed it back and continued, “My dear, we are just beginning.” That made Tony smile, and Loki always felt helpless to resist the urge to smile back at him. Their lips collided again as Tony's hands pulled up Loki's shirt, finally pulling it over his head to free him of it, and then embracing again, skin against skin, flush against each other. Loki moaned into the kiss, his tongue sweeping over Tony's lower lip. Tony parted his lips to meet it with his own and soon had Loki's tongue in his mouth, kissing him deeply.

Eventually Loki broke away, with some difficulty. The tub was now pretty full with water, steam rising from the surface, and Loki leaned over and turned off the taps. Tony stood behind him and wrapped his arms around Loki, hands against his chest, pulling him to stand. “Dammit, I've missed you...” Tony murmured against Loki's skin at the juncture of his neck and shoulder, pressing one hand against Loki's stomach, holding Loki still and tight against him, erection pressed against his ass. With the other hand he explored Loki's chest, kissing and leaving little bites on Loki's alabaster skin while he did so, marking Loki as his.

For a moment, Loki was content to let Tony do that, grinding his hips back against Tony, before he started to wriggle out of Tony's grasp. He turned around to sit on the side of the tub, reaching down to unfasten his boots. Without question, Tony dropped to his knees and helped Loki remove them, kicking off his shoes as he did so. Loki's hand tangled in his hair, and Tony looked up at him, his hands coming to rest on Loki's thighs, as he was planning to pull Loki's pants off him. Loki's expression wasn't what Tony expected; it was thoughtful, tinged with something almost like guilt. Loki said softly, “You are the one mortal I would not compel to kneel before me.”

Tony grinned. “You didn't  _compel_  me,”  _I wanted to_. Tony got to his feet, standing in front of Loki, grinning. “You used to be totally into subjugating me.”

Loki raised an eyebrow. “And as I recall, you protested most indignantly.”

“I'd keep me in my place, if I were you,” Tony said, giving Loki one hard shove to the centre of the chest. Loki's guard had obviously been down, he hadn't been expecting it, as his eyes widened and he fell backward into the water with a splash.

Tony laughed and stepped closer, but before he could process what was happening, let alone react, Loki had hold of him by the waist, and roughly pulled Tony in after him. Tony's leg slammed against the side of the tub and he fell forward; and for a moment his whole reality was the swirling, chaotic, immersive presence of water, of Loki's arms and legs around him, until he managed to surface, spluttering, clinging to the side to pull himself up as his heart pounded in his chest.

He still had his jeans on, and the water made them tight and incredibly restrictive to his movements – though Loki was apparently keen on solving that little problem, unfastening them, roughly pulling them down over his ass– Tony gasped as he felt Loki press his cock against him, threatening with his movements to enter him right then and there. Loki's forearm pressed against his back, holding him down, Tony couldn't move as Loki leaned over him, exuding menace with every fibre of his being. “Do not do anything like that again,” Loki growled.

Tony just laughed. “There's my villain. Good to see you again.”

“You cannot  _see_  me.”

Tony licked his lips and smiled, admitting, “But I wish I could.”

With a grunt Loki pulled him by the shoulder to turn him over, and Tony let his eyes drop quickly down Loki's body to his erection, Tony feeling himself throb as he drank in the visage. Smoothly, Tony sat on the submerged bench and pushed his jeans and underwear down under the water, making eye-contact with Loki as he did so. Loki's eyes glinted with a dangerous look, one that Tony was well used to seeing. Loki sank into the water and removed his pants, discarding both his own and Tony's over the side of the tub, only to return immediately, one lean arm each side of Tony, trapping him there. His menace was tempered a little by the tangled, dripping mess of black hair on his head, and how his eyes were dark not just with lust – but with  _need_.

Tony smiled and leaned forward, slipping his arms around Loki, kissing him. This kiss was more heated than before, harsher, with more little bites and battles for dominance. Loki pulled Tony forward until they were in the centre of the tub together, and then drifted back to sit on the bench, pulling Tony to straddle his lap.

Tony kissed him and smirked; he knew Loki pretty well by this point. “You like this position, don't you?”

“Mhmm...” Loki didn't break the kiss to make anything more of a reply, at first. When he finally did, he held Tony still, and met his eyes. “It may interest you to know,” Loki said, playfully, “that I lost my innocence, such as I ever had, in this position. And it was here.”

“Here?”

“ _Right_   _here_ ,” Loki confirmed, with a grin.

Tony just laughed, so Loki asked, “Why is this amusing?”

“You're so confident,” Tony replied, “so sure of yourself. I honestly can't imagine you being a nervous, fumbling adolescent not knowing what to do...” he paused to think for a moment. “So, a woman got in here with you, got on top of you and showed you where to put it? I mean, if this was with a woman...”

“It was.” Loki frowned a little, “and I knew  _where to put it_.” There was a moment of silence in which Tony looked away and was still, his gaze not fixed on anything. Loki asked, “You're imagining it, aren't you?”

By way of response Tony kissed him and moved forward to press his body against Loki, feeling Loki's hands on his back, descending to his ass to knead his flesh. Tony moaned and broke the kiss, reaching to a shelf just behind the tub. He took hold of a bottle made of some substance he could not recognise, and Loki watched him while he poured some of its contents onto his hands, presuming it to be some kind of liquid soap...

A smile played across Loki's lips. “You do know that's shampoo?”

“Yes,” Tony replied quickly, moving his hands to Loki's hair and rubbing it in, enjoying doing that more than he expected. Loki licked his lips and did the same for him, watching with an amused sort of smile. Just when Tony thought that Loki was reasonably innocuous, as much as he ever was, meeting Tony in another kiss, he held Tony tightly and suddenly pulled them both under the water again. Tony hit at his shoulders and struggled against him, but Loki kept a tight hold on him and pulled him back out after only a few seconds.

Tony broke away from him and gasped as water cascaded down his face from his hair. Loki swept his own hair back casually as if nothing had happened. He took another bottle, this one filled with soap and spread it onto his hands, immediately moving to rub it over Tony's shoulders, down his chest, over his arms. Tony sighed and let him do it; he never could stay mad at Loki, especially not when his hands were sliding quickly and easily over Tony's skin, touching him firmly, massaging every part of him. And besides, letting Loki take control was one of Tony's guilty pleasures. Before, for all his life, Tony had always been the one to take the lead, but there was something incredibly appealing about letting someone else do that, about giving himself over to Loki's desires, letting Loki worship Tony's body and grant Tony whatever manner of pleasure he chose to.

Just as Tony was rubbing the soap over Loki, biting his lip at the feel of the prince's firm muscles under his hands, Loki let his hand trail down Tony's stomach. Loki's fingers still a little slick with soap, he enveloped Tony's cock and squeezed him gently, moving up and down slowly. Tony's eyes fell closed and he moaned as Loki touched him, letting those long fingers creep down between his legs, stimulating the sensitive skin at the backs of his thighs and his ass.

He kissed Loki passionately as the prince pressed a finger into him, Loki wasn't moving with impatience, exactly, but he was obviously seeking to get Tony ready. Tony's hand found Loki's cock under the water, and loved the way Loki moaned into his mouth as Tony took it in his hand. Being wanted,  _needed,_  by a god was either great for Tony's self esteem or terrible for his ego, depending on how one looked at things. All Tony knew was that it felt fucking incredible to be desired so fervently by Loki, and he wanted Loki just as badly. Tony kissed Loki's cheek, moving quickly to his ear, assaulting it with little bites and pulls with his teeth that had Loki panting underneath him.

Loki pressed his fingers deep into Tony and then pushed him upwards, encouraging him to rise out of the water and stand. Tony did so, though he felt shaky as hell, holding Loki's shoulders for support. Loki eagerly took Tony's cock deep into his mouth, sucking it as he pulled back. With his fingers still inside Tony, Loki could massage the sensitive spot inside in little circular motions, and the combination overwhelmed Tony with pleasure, his fingers tangling in Loki's hair, guttural, primitive sounds spilling from his throat. He swore, he told Loki he wanted him; there was no way to control himself.

“Loki, fuck me,” he ordered, or perhaps pleaded, and Loki finally decided to comply. The god pulled Tony back down into the water and kissed him, before turning him around to bend over. Tony wouldn't normally let Loki take quite this much control, even if he wanted it like that he would make a little play fight out of it, but after everything Loki had done, he needed Loki inside him too badly now to protest.

Tony gripping the side of the tub firmly, Loki stood behind him, applying some lube to himself, rubbing his cock in the cleft of Tony's ass and gripping each cheek firmly in his hands, taking a moment to admire the view before pressing up against Tony's tight hole. Tony bit his lip, he could feel Loki stretching him as he entered and pushed forward, more and more of his length sliding into Tony, filling him.

Loki moaned and Tony could feel Loki ease himself in deeper, pulling out only a little way as he moved inside Tony, letting him get used to it. “How does this feel?” Loki asked, breathlessly.

It was a moment before Tony managed in a strangled gasp, “Amazing.” He caught his breath and added, “You feel so good inside me Loki, so right...” Loki hummed his approval, moving faster, in deeper, longer strokes. Tony could feel the hot tension in the pit of his stomach as Loki took him; it made Tony feel complete when Loki was inside him, it filled a need that Tony had never before known that he even had. He let Loki have his way with him at first, before Tony panted, “Loki... I want... I want to ride you.”

Loki's movements faltered, and he didn't have to be asked twice. He pulled out, and Tony whimpered slightly at the loss, quickly turning around to straddle Loki's lap again, sinking into the water, facing him. Tony smirked at the memory of what Loki had told him, that this was how he lost his virginity, and that was a thrill all of its own somehow.

Tony lowered himself down on Loki's cock, watching his eyelids flutter closed as he let his head fall back with pleasure. Tony leaned down to lick up Loki's throat, over his adam's apple. He could feel the vibration of Loki's moan against his mouth, before a firm hand in the centre of Tony's back forced him to sit up straight. Then Loki's mouth was at his jaw, peppering his skin with kisses and little bites before moving on to Tony's neck to suck hard at his skin. Tony rolled his hips faster, bucking wantonly on top of Loki, needing to feel Loki's thick cock against every sensitive place inside him. Loki clung to him, bringing one hand to Tony's manhood, pumping it in time with Tony's movements.

“I'm close, Loki...” Tony panted, and Loki didn't even make a verbal answer – usually so talkative, so good with words, but Tony had him reduced to a creature of instinct and insatiable desire. Tony felt himself tense and his movements became erratic as the pleasure shot through him. He collapsed against Loki's body, arms around his shoulders as he came, feeling himself spasm around Loki's cock, still buried deep inside him.

Loki picked him up easily, remaining inside him, and rested Tony's ass against the side of the tub, keeping firm hold of him as he moved. The pleasure was almost too much for Tony and he moaned helplessly as Loki pounded into him, hard, fast and deep, the way he did when he was getting close to release. Loki threw his head back with a loud moan as he reached climax, slowing down, breathing heavily. “Tony...” he managed as he came to a stop, easing himself out of Tony.

They sank back into the water to sit next to each other, arms around each other's shoulders, and took a moment to relax and catch their breath. The water had cooled a little, but it was still comfortable.

Loki took a deep breath and slipped under the water, running his fingers through his long black hair several times, getting out all of the tangles and knots before surfacing again. He smiled at Tony and tucked his hair behind his ears before standing and getting out of the tub, water cascading down his elegant body. Even then, Tony could feel a stirring in his groin as he watched, climbing out to join him and dry off. Loki combed his hair back but left it to dry naturally as Tony towelled his own hair into a tousled mess on top of his head, not caring how it looked, though Loki told him that he liked it that way.

They didn't bother to dress again, as such, donning only incredibly soft and fluffy towel robes. Loki's was green, of course, and Tony's was white. He wished he had a red one, not just because red was kind of his colour, but that would just be fucking marvellous; red and green being the colours of Christmas, after all.

Dinner was brought to them, and they went into a previously unseen room of Loki's to eat. “How many rooms do you have?” Tony asked as he sat down, wincing just slightly from mild discomfort, but returning to normal.

“That depends on what you define as a room, and what you define as being mine.”

Tony rolled his eyes and dropped it, looking over the feast laid out for them: a bird, possibly much like turkey, sausages, bacon, potatoes, an array of vegetables. Tony picked up a sharp knife to cut the meat, realising with a start that Loki must at least be kind of trusted, or they wouldn't let him have such a thing in his possession.

Darkness slowly fell outside, and they caught up while they ate, talking of events on Earth, though Loki was evasive about what exactly had been going on in Asgard. Tony drank plenty of wine and Loki watched him do so, with a disapproving look.

When they were finished eating, Loki led him back into the other room, which was apparently more private.

“I believe it is customary to exchange gifts,” he said, matter-of-factly, picking up a small parcel wrapped in red paper and handing it to him.

“Oh,” Tony didn't know how to react to this. He found himself saying, “I didn't get you anything.”

Loki merely smiled. “It matters not. You have given me yourself.”

“The best gift of all,” Tony replied, to which Loki laughed.

Loki looked at the parcel Tony was still holding, and commanded, “Open it.”

Tony smiled and fingered the edge of the paper, though he was a little worried that the box might contain the head of one of his enemies or something, though it wasn't big enough or heavy enough for that. Tony tore the paper to reveal a matte black box, like the kind of box in which one expects to find jewellery. Tony flipped up the lid to reveal a black cord necklace, with a silver pendant. The pendant itself was a little bigger than a dollar coin, and adorned with intricate symbols and runes in some ancient language that Tony couldn't recognise. Loki explained, “When you wear it, it will protect you against sorcery. Curses, mind-control, anything that affects you personally.”

Tony widened his eyes. Loki was giving him something that he could use to _protect himself from Loki_. That said more about how far things had got between them than just about anything else. The implication was, of course, that the two of them trusted each other by this point; the defence against sorcery was something that Tony was being given to protect himself from other sorcerers, of which Asgard had many. And now that Midgard was apparently fair game in interstellar war, the appearance of more sorcerers was actually pretty likely. “Thank you,” Tony said, realising he had quiet for a while. “This is a more practical present than the tree.”

Loki smiled and bit his lip. “I thought it may be useful to you. I wanted you to have it.”

Tony slipped the pendant over his head to rest around his neck, and was suddenly struck by a thought. “Actually, there is something I could give you.” Tony assured him, “You can have that book of Shakespeare's plays you already read some of while you were on Earth. When you take me back, I'll get it for you.”

“You do not have to give me anything.”

“It's fine,” Tony assured him. “It may be useful to you. It'll give you a better understanding of human nature.”

Loki rolled his eyes but tacitly accepted the gift.

Tony surveyed the mess of Loki's room, and how many books were already there, and raised his eyebrows. “Don't lose it.”

“I do not lose things,” Loki retorted.

Tony gestured at the chaos. “Liar. Your room looks like a bomb went off in it. You're telling me you know where everything is in here?”

“ _Precisely_ ,” Loki replied, insistently, pushing Tony down to sit on the couch by the fire. He glanced out of the window. “It is snowing,” he said, with a smile.

“Don't change the subject,” Tony replied. Loki hit him playfully on the arm and settled in next to him.

Tony sighed and looked out. All he could see from there was the night sky; clear patches visible between the clouds through which he could see the wider universe, the vast array of stars and galaxies. Flecks of snow were drifting down slowly, buffeted by every tiny eddy of the wind, and Tony found it most relaxing and strangely hypnotic to watch. Over time, some of them settled down against the window pane, piling up in top of each other to form a fluffy layer of the purest white.

He commented on it to Loki, and asked, “If I try to give you the nickname Frosty, like Frosty the Snowman, will you stab me?”

“Yes.”

Tony laughed, and Loki added, “I do not know who Frosty the Snowman is.” Tony briefly explained the Christmas song to Loki, then had to explain the concept of Christmas songs in general.

Then the two of them fell into a comfortable silence, Tony settling down into a satisfied sort of tiredness, Loki curled up beside him, resting his head on Tony's shoulder. Tony rested his cheek against Loki's damp hair, drinking in the smell of him, the feel of him. Closing his eyes, Tony let himself relax. Loki made him feel many things, but _relaxed_ was not usually one of them. Tonight, though, it seemed easy and natural for them to be this way. “Loki...” Tony murmured softly, for no particular reason. Loki's hair was drying in the usual style into which he had combed it, and Tony affectionately ruffled it with his fingers, teasing it out to be looser, almost a little fluffy, curling up at the ends. It was ridiculous how adorable that was. Tony felt that feeling that he could not or would not name swelling up in his chest, making him ache as if the energy of it threatened to burst out of him. Unless Tony wanted to spoil all of this by saying something stupid, he would have to find another outlet.

Loki shifted a little against him, a small hum of contentment rising from his throat. Tony tucked Loki's loose hair behind his ear and let his fingers trail down the side of Loki's neck, lightly sweeping them back up over his throat. Tony kept this up until he heard Loki finally draw in a deeper breath, and then Tony knew that he was turning Loki on, letting it build up gradually, steadily.

Loki responded, slipping his hand under Tony's robe and taking a moment, as he so often did, to circle the arc reactor with his fingers. That had made Tony nervous, in the beginning, but now, he found that he rather liked it. He took it as indicative of Loki's fascination with Tony and his technology. And it was evidence, weighed against a stack of evidence to the contrary, that Tony _did_ want to live.

At first, Loki's fingers always felt cool, and the prince's touch was like rivulets of ice-water rolling over Tony's skin, drawing up goosebumps, sending a shiver along his spine. His fingers found Tony's nipple and he idly played with it between his fingertips, as content as Tony was to take his time. Loki let his hand drop, then, to Tony's stomach, his hand not feeling quite so cold anymore as he traced the outline of Tony's hip bone.

Tony slid his hand down to Loki's shoulder, exploring under the robe, moving down to Loki's chest. He shifted his face against Loki's hair, acutely conscious of his sudden desire to kiss him. Loki sat up straighter and and immediately caught Tony's lips in a kiss.

In that instant, it was as if a switch flipped, and Tony felt arousal surge through his body, alive with ardent desire for Loki. Tony could swear that he felt Loki getting warmer against him as the prince tugged at his robe, craving more skin-to-skin contact. Loki draped one leg over Tony's and pushed him down to lean against the arm of the couch, then resting his weight against Tony, as much as he dared, as he pressed their bodies together.

Tony loved the feel of Loki's chest pressed up against his, and pushed more of the robe away, slipping his hand round to Loki's lower back, then down squeeze his firm ass. Loki moaned into his mouth and then broke away to press his lips to Tony's cheek and his neck as Loki raised himself up on his knees. Tony tried to pace himself, caressing Loki's toned thigh, fingertips ghosting over Loki's inner thighs until he reached Loki's balls. When he finally wrapped his hand around Loki's cock he found him fully erect, lustfully moaning Tony's name in his ear, hands all over Tony's body.

The decisive, powerful urge to be inside Loki gripped Tony then. Loki rested himself against Tony as Tony's fingers worked to prepare his hole, steadily, thoroughly, until he had Loki naked and trembling on top of him. Loki stroked Tony's cock, coating him liberally with lube and Tony's breath hitched at the slick, wet feeling of Loki's hand sliding over him, knowing that sliding into Loki's tight ass would be even better. “I want you so much, Loki...” Tony breathed.

Loki circled the head of Tony's cock with his thumb and replied, “And I you, my love.” Tony swallowed hard and forced himself to ignore _that_ word, or perhaps he didn't mind it anymore, he didn't know, he couldn't think, as he pulled Loki down on top of him, sinking into the heat of Loki's body.

With only a few movements, Loki was taking him in to the hilt, Tony bucking his hips up to meet him. This was perfect; Tony had already taken Loki inside him tonight, and now they were joined again, so close together... there was only one way this could be any better. Tony made his request in gasps and fragmented sentences, but Loki understood, Loki always understood.

Tony soon had Loki on his back against the other corner of the couch, as Tony knelt on the floor before him. Tony wanted Loki exposed in front of him, illuminated by the flickering orange light of the fire, and the steady blue light of the arc reactor – Tony always loved it when they could see each other.

Loki spread his legs and Tony ducked down to take Loki's cock into his mouth, relishing the salty taste of his pre-come as he licked over the leaking tip. Loki tangled his fingers in Tony's hair as Tony sucked eagerly at his cock, loving the feeling of it filling his mouth. Loki's breath was ragged when Tony stopped and repositioned himself, holding Loki's legs apart as he pressed the head of his cock against Loki's hole, watching as he sank into the god.

There was little Loki could do but lie there as Tony held him firmly by the waist and thrust into him, moving faster, and faster, pounding into him, making him shake helplessly. Loki's fingers clenched around the cushion and Tony watched as he moaned unashamedly, closing his eyes tightly, biting his lip, before moaning, “Tony... oh Tony...”

The words were out of Tony's mouth before he could stop them, before he even knew what the hell he was saying. “I love you,” Tony gasped.

Loki's eyes flew open and he stared back at him in surprise. Tony slowed and met his eyes, seeing written all over Loki's face how he had longed to hear those words, how he had longed to say them again himself. “And I love you, Tony. I love you so much,” he rambled, “take me, take me please...” his words faded as Tony buried himself deep inside Loki, building up a rhythm again.

Just as they were starting to get close, Loki managed to sit up, his arms around Tony's neck. “Lie down,” he commanded. Tony ran his hands up Loki's body and kissed him, until Loki repeated, “Lie down.” Loki pushed him by the shoulders and Tony fell back to the floor, pulling Loki after him. Tony lay down on the rug in front of the fire, feeling the heat of it washing over them, just watching as Loki positioned himself to sit, arching his back and pressing himself down on Tony's cock, taking all of him, enveloping him.

Loki closed his eyes and took a deep, shaking breath before he started to move, planting his hands firmly on Tony's chest to steady himself. Tony trailed his fingers lightly up the inside of Loki's wrists, his arms, watching through heavily lidded eyes as Loki bit his lip and moved faster, his body tightening around Tony's cock. Loki was as much of a hot, exhilarating fuck as ever, but now he was so much more than that. Tony _did_ love him, it was true, he couldn't hide from it anymore. “Loki...” he held Loki by the waist, tensed and relaxed against the floor as Loki rode him, the sound of Loki's moans filling his ears as Loki bucked his hips hard and fast, slamming himself down against Tony's hips.

Tony pulled Loki down closer to him, and Loki wanted that, he wanted Tony's powerful arms around him, he wanted– Tony knew what Loki wanted, rolling him onto his back, getting dangerously close to the fire, not caring at all. Loki writhed underneath him, clinging to him, wrapping his legs around Tony's waist, throwing his head back and moaning loudly.

“Fuck, Loki,” Tony knew he was getting close, pressing his chest against Loki's, planting hurried kisses over his face, his lips, breathing heavily and thrilling with the exertion as he thrust himself fast and deep into Loki.

“Tony,” Loki panted, taking his cock in his hand and pumping it, just as Tony felt his own balls tighten, “oh, I love you, Tony–” Tony felt Loki come, spilling onto their stomachs, and Tony came almost immediately after, spending himself deep inside Loki's body with a few instinctive thrusts into him. Overwhelmed by the intensity of the climax, Tony's heart pounded and his breath seared into his lungs, exhausted, and felt he that he barely had the strength to move.

Panting, Tony got off Loki and lay back down on the rug. Loki climbed over him to rest his head on Tony's chest, his face towards the fire. Their skin shimmered a little in the light from sweat, and Tony commented, “We need another bath now...”

Loki let out a little laugh and kissed his chest, working his way down to lick his own come off Tony's skin. Tony took a deep breath and held him close, and for a while they stayed there, bathed by the warmth and light of the fire and the afterglow. Loki lazily traced patterns over Tony's chest, circling the arc reactor, fiddling with the pendant he had given Tony, which still rested around his neck. Eventually, in a low, soft voice, he asked, “Did you mean it?”

“Yes,” Tony replied immediately, knowing that Loki was referring to Tony's declaration of love. “As insane as it is.”

Loki laughed hollowly, his voice shaking with emotion. “Is the notion of loving me really so inconceivable, so insane?”

“No, no, that's not what I meant.” Tony said, hurriedly, squeezing Loki closer against him. “I just meant, I never thought I'd say this, but – we're not even the same _species_.”

Loki smiled and a tear fell from his eye. “Damn,” Tony said, “if you're going to start crying after sex, maybe I'll change my mind...”

“I'm not _crying_ ,” Loki insisted, and they smiled easily at each other.

After a moment, Loki said solemnly, “You know I meant it,” to which Tony simply nodded. It was strange that the trickster, the liar, renowned for his dishonesty, would be the one to be the most honest about that.

Loki kissed his chest and sat up, leaning on one arm and gazing down at Tony. “Let us go to bed,” he smiled.

Tony returned the smile and got up, stretching, following Loki into his bedchamber. Tony had never even been in here yet; it was another spacious room, dominated by an enormous four-poster bed covered with indecently soft deep green sheets.

Loki pulled back the covers and climbed in, breaking into a wide grin, and Tony asked, “What are you smiling about?”

“Well,” Loki raised an eyebrow, “many things. I brought you here to Asgard to share my bed, and we haven't even _been_ to bed yet...”

“ _Yet_ ,” Tony replied, grinning back at him, climbing under the covers to join him.

They settled in close together, the heavy, luxuriant blankets cocooning them there together in their own little world of warmth and comfort. There had been a time when they hadn't exactly done a lot of cuddling, but things had definitely changed. They had become far more important to each other than either had ever dreamed, as voracious lust had evolved into passionate love.

Tony held Loki close and kissed him deeply, running his fingers through Loki's hair, which was much softer than usual. He pressed his forehead to Loki's and murmured, “Loki, I'm so in love with you.”

Loki kissed him, wordless little sounds of pleasure escaping him, until he said, “Make love to me...”

“I already have,” Tony smiled. “We probably have been for a while, we just didn't dare call it that–” Loki silenced him with another kiss as if to say, _It matters not_.

The two of them still had Christmas night together before Tony had to leave, and from that moment they both managed to let their guard down, even if only for a night. And it didn't matter what anyone else thought about it, it didn't matter that neither of them knew where the hell they went from here, it didn't even matter that Tony had to return to Midgard in the morning. All that mattered was the two of them together, the way they made love, the present. 


End file.
